What Exactly Is a ‘Big Hero 6’? (And 24 Other Urgent Questions)

Opening on November 7 is the new Disney animated hullabaloo titled ‘Big Hero 6.’ In ‘Big Hero 6,’ five regular human beings are brought together to fight crime alongside an inflatable robot doctor. I swear that all of this will make sense, kind of. Ahead, as a service to the world, we answer every question that you could possibly have about ‘Big Hero 6.’

Q: Is ‘Big Hero 6’ a Marvel movie?

A: No, it’s a Disney movie.

Q: But isn’t ‘Big Hero 6’ a Marvel comic book?

A: In the ‘90s, ‘Big Hero 6’ was a Marvel comic, but, other than some shared character names, it has very little to do with this Disney ‘Big Hero 6’ movie.

Q: But doesn’t Disney own Marvel?

A: Yes, but … sigh, let’s move on, please.

Q: Do I need to see ‘Big Hero 5’ to understand what’s happening in ‘Big Hero 6’?

A: There is the first movie in the series – it’s the origin story – so there is no ‘Big Hero 5.’

Q: Is ‘Big Hero 6’ about a delicious sandwich?

A: No, the “6” in ‘Big Hero 6’ refers to the amount of people who are part of the Big Hero 6 super team.

Q: How do we meet this super team?

A: ‘Big Hero 6’ opens at a sort of illegal ‘Real Steel’-type robot fighting event. This is where we meet kid genius Hiro Hamada, who is a bit of a grifter at these events – which often gets him into trouble with nefarious types.

Q: Does Hugh Jackman rescue Hiro?

A: No. Hiro is rescued by his nice guy older brother, Tadashi, who wishes Hiro would put his intelligence to good use at the local technology university.

Q: Is this what eventually happens?

A: Hiro is still depressed over the death of his parents and, even though he graduated high school early, he feels college is for the birds. At least until he visits the college and sees just how fun it all is…

Q: Does Tadashi take Hiro to a party at the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity?

A: No, Tadashi takes Hiro to a laboratory at the school that convinces Hiro that “school is cool.”

Q: Wasn’t here a Schoolhouse Rock about school being cool?

A: No. But there was a fake Schoolhouse Rock-type one about “exercising your choppers.”

Q: Is that the one with the cheese man?

A: No, you’re thinking of this:

Q: So Hiro applies to the college?

A: To gain admittance to this college, Hiro must win a science fair…

Q: Oh, I see, and Hiro invents that big inflatable white robot, Baymax, that I see in all of the commercials?

A: No, Hiro uses his knowledge of robot-making to invent a series of microbots that can pretty much do anything.

Q: Then who invented Baymax?

A: Baymax was invented as a medical robot by Hiro’s brother, Tadashi.

Q: Does Hiro dazzle the crowd with his microbots?

A: At first, but soon after the presentation, there’s a terrible accident and his microbots are stolen by a masked villain.

Q: So, wait, when does this Big Hero 6 show up?

A: Hiro teams up with a few people from the school, plus Baymax, to form Big Hero 6 in an effort to reclaim his microbots.

Q: Does the movie version of Baymax in his armor look anything like Iron Man wearing his Hulk-busting suit in the new Avengers trailer?

A: Yes.

Marvel/Disney

Q: Will the villain in ‘Big Hero 6’ also reveal how to do secret magic tricks?

A: Maybe. He does look an awful lot like the Masked Magician from those Fox network ‘Breaking the Magician’s Code’ specials. And he is evil.

Fox/Disney

Q: Will I like ‘Big Hero 6’?

A: It’s one of those movies that I know I enjoyed while watching it, but, other than a couple of key moments that I liked, don’t remember a lot about after. I know that sounds like faint praise -- and I really don't mean it that way because it is an enjoyable experience ("an enjoyable experience" is your money quote) -- but in ten years I can’t imagine many people talking about ‘Big Hero 6’ in terms other than “I can’t believe there are seven of these ‘Big Hero 6’ movies already, remember when the first one came out way back in 2014?”

Q: What key moments did you like?

A: Discussing would get into the dreaded spoiler territory, but let’s just say that some actions actually do have consequences that do remain consequences. And as a result of this, there are character motivations and emotions that actually make sense.

Q: What didn’t you like?

A: There’s a pretty emotional scene at the end of the movie that I also won’t get into specifics, but it’s kind of undermined by an all too convenient and abbreviated coda.

Q: Will ‘Big Hero 6’ make a lot of money?

A: Gobs.

Q: Will there be a ‘Big Hero 6’ franchise?

A: It’s evident that Disney would love to make about ten of these movies – making ‘Big Hero 6’ into the cultural force that ‘Frozen’ became last year. Although I think ‘Frozen’ caught everyone off guard by just how big it became – including Disney – whereas it’s kind of obvious that Disney is attempting to make a franchise.

Q: How did you post two Schoolhouse Rock video and not ‘I’m Just a Bill’? It is election day, you know?